Customer Reviews

Eden (Harlequin Historical)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Katie was the daughter of a prostitute. Her father sent her to live with a family thinking this was a better life for her. It wasnt. She was abused at the hands of that family. She wanders into town to escape the adoptive father's wandering hands and stumbles into John Roper. He sizes up her plight and takes her home with him to live as his housekeeper. He has had a tough life but her open spirit guides him. It's a sweet story that starts with such tradgedy. I always like Carolyn Davidson's books and this one was no exception. It was just a little slower than her other books but I still liked it.

I like Carolyn Davidson's books and have read a number of them now. I enjoyed Eden very much and thought the two main characters were worthy and interesting people; ditto the secondary characters. The story takes place in the Dakota Territory in the 1890s and is about ranching and small town life. Our heroine, 17 year old Katie, is the victim of abuse and has had a very sad and difficult life. She runs away and is rescued by John, an upright and kindly ranch foreman who takes her home with him to be his housekeeper. That is Flaw #1 - I wasn't convinced by his motives as they were mixed and unclear.

John seems, sometimes, too good to be true. He is so understanding of Katie and her needs and is always ready with a kind word and light touch. However, Flaw #2 - two thirds through the novel, he loses it and turns on Katie in a most unexpected way that seems totally out of character. We know he had a bad first marriage but up until that point, he seemingly had moved past it.

There were some good secondary characters - good people and very bad people and all of them add to the story. One, in particular, however, caused me some concern. I am sure that the author is planning another book to accompany this, featuring Katie's younger sister and a Dakota Indian named Grey Wolf. Flaw #3, for me, is that at the time of Wounded Knee, etc, is it likely that an Indian such as Grey Wolf would seem to move through the world much admired, treated as an equal without question, and make up to a white woman (a very young girl, in fact) without raising a few eyebrows? This was, considering the historical timeframe, rather unrealistic. Maybe a subsequent book will address this.

The author writes a good story and this was well told. However, the three issues above kept it from being a 5 star keeper for me.

I could barely finish this one. All through the book, I just kept asking myself...Is this really Carolyn Davidson? I've read and enjoyed so many of her books, I just couldn't believe such a poor quality one had come for her. Perhaps it was one of her early ones, which would explain the clumsy, amateurish writing and excessive use of 'for' when 'because' would have done just as easily. Overly flowery language is not something I've associated with this author before, but it really gets on your nerves in a hurry. I will say this; the heroine is enjoyable. Which makes the churlish 'hero' ten times as bad. He apparently has been cheated on in the past, which is supposed to make it okay that he uses excessive force and a lack of care in taking his wife at least twice. He has a hard time believing she has done nothing to instigate the affections of another man, despite the fact that he sees her fighting him off as he tries to accost her. She must have used her wiles to earn his attention, taking advantage of his masculine weakness. Oh, but he assures us that he sees the error of his ways afterwards and though he can't promise he'll never be rough with her again (as he may become angry with her at some point), he will never leave bruises in the future. What a guy. Nevermind that his poor child bride is seventeen--though she acts more like fourteen--and has a history of physical and limited sexual abuse. There is never any real resolution to this, or any point in which the hero feels true shame, so I suppose they are going to be fine until the next man smiles at Katie without any provocation and sends John into a jealous rage. Add to this a ridiculous plot twist at the end, it makes for a very weak book. Let's just say any sheriff who allows a pregnant woman to become involved in a dispute is the biggest moron on earth. Try to avoid this one if possible.

I was so surprised that anyone liked this book. It was so slow! Literally nothing happened for the first 200 pages. ButI do think I know exactly what the protagonists bought at every trip to the store and exactly what kind of improvements were made to their cabin. There was no action and no emotion, just a lot of description of what was taking place. You never felt as if you were in the moment with the characters, even when there was something going on.

The dialogue was so stilted and forced. The protagonists kept refering to each other by name as they spoke. No one actually goes around saying "John, are you hungry?" "Yes Katie, I am hungry." "I am going to make stew for dinner, John." "That sounds good Katie."

Very disappointing.

I was very disappointed with the book. I've read a couple of books by Carolyn Davidson, and loved then, but this is the second one that I didn't like. The beginning was amazing, but it slowly dwindled from there. I almost stopped reading it several times, but wanted to see if things changed.

I felt as though there was too much telling, and not enough showing. Not enough dialog. And I didn't like the main characters. The hero treated the heroin as a child, and really a child she appeared to be. She was too naive for me, and he was to knowing of her feelings on subjects he should not know of, being a man. There were a few opportunities to spice up the story but it didn't happen.

Since I've liked a couple of her books in the past, I'll most likely still give another a try. Even the best of authors can have a bad book now and again.

In 1890 in Eden, Dakota Territory, when she entered his Dogleg Saloon, John Roper knew instantly the bruised young girl did not belong there. Instead of offering her work there as she desperately asked, feeling sorry for the waif, he hires as his housekeeper.

Katie fails to inform her kindhearted employee that she is a runaway. For a dozen years Katie has been an abused slave to her odious adopted parents Jacob and Agnes Schrader. For the time in a long time, she feels safe and somewhat contented working for John whom she has fallen in love with. However, she also feels survivor guilt for her adopted sister, Jane still enslaved by the mean-spirited Schrader's who have found Katie.

Putting aside statehood dates (no instant messenger from DC), EDEN is an excellent western romance due to the lead couple. Roper is terrific as a reluctant hero who cannot stop himself from being a knight in shining armor. Katie is the more fascinating protagonist as she recognizes reality as a person with no rights or legal recourse a saloon is better for her than the Schrader house while also filled with guilt for Jane. Fans will appreciate this strong late nineteenth century romance as the heroine escapes from hell to find a haven filled with love in EDEN.

Harriet Klausner

Over all I liked this book, but it was not as good as others by this author (and I've read at least 5). There isn't as much action as typical for her books - more inner feelings, thoughts, narrative. Also, the end (epilogue?) was a little far fetched and rushed. I think it would have been more believable if the heroine would've learned about her father a little earlier in the book and been angry at first (even after wanting blood kin family of her own, it still would have been more plausible for her to feel a little anger that he'd been there all the time and not taken care of her), then accepted him when he apologized; instead of having it all happen in one scene and have her welcome him with open arms. I mean, come on, the man lived in the same town. He may not have known the truth about the couple who adopted her, but still.

This is a great, yet slightly different story and I like it enough to be reading it for the second time.

I loved this book. I have read many Carolyn Davidson book's, and while I have enjoyed the majority of them, this one is by far my favorite.

This book started out with a good premise and wound up being so sappy, I had to make myself finish it. The heroine was portrayed as so naive that she seemed almost retarded; and the hero was made to seem like he was 50 years old, though he was only 30.

The adding of the similarly simple "sister", Jane, did nothing for the book, and over all, the book consisted of Katie (heroine) thinking about how grateful she was to be rescued by John (hero), and John constantly talking to her and telling her over and over that he will never hurt her. Boring couple overall.

Could have been a good story, but terribly fleshed out characters.